The invention relates to a photographic camera of the multiple spot photometry type, and more particularly, to such a camera including photometric means with storage which successively samples and stores information relating to the brightness of an object being photographed at a plurality of desired spots.
As is well recognized, the photometry used in a camera can be categorized into an average photometry and a partial or spotwise photometry. The average photometry provides an average determination of the brightness of an object being photographed over a relatively broad area, and almost all of the usual cameras employ this technique since it produces a passable result for taking a picture of a common object. By contrast, the partial or spotwise photometry determines a the brightness of a restricted area of the object being photographed in a spotwise manner, and is effectively utilized when controlling the amount of exposure in accordance with a selected area of the object exhibiting a high contrast. However, it requires a troublesome operation, and may disadvantageously result in a picture being taken with an improper exposure. Accordingly, when taking a picture of a common object, it can be said that the average photometry is superior to the spotwise photometry.
However, it will be noted that while there are objects being photographed which exhibit a low contrast, in practice, there are a number of objects exhibiting higher contrasts such as objects in the rear light, objects on a stage, or objects in the outdoors as viewed through a window when a particular composition is desired. In particular, the chance to take pictures of objects exhibiting a higher contrast increases with the skill of a photographer. If an object being photographed which exhibits a high contrast is taken with a photographic camera which utilizes the average photometry technique, the exposure will be controlled in accordance with the average brightness of the object, and cannot fully reflect the intent of a photographer for the photographic composition which would be achieved by controlling the exposure in accordance with the brightness of a selected area of the object.
A photographic camera of multiple spot photometry type has already been proposed which includes spotwise photometric means with storage for determining, at any time desired, and storing brightness of selected spots on an object being photographed which exhibits a high contrast. With such a camera, it is possible to perform an arithmetic operation on a plurality of spotwise brightness values stored in order to determine an exposure level in accordance with the result of such calculation. This allows a photographer to choose an exposure control which fully reflects his intention. However, a camera of this kind has a limited storage capacity, which prevented the entry of further spotwise values after a given number of such values have been entered. Consequently, if an entry operation is made, an associated display which indicates the result of an arithmetic operation remains unchanged, causing a photographer to recognize mistakenly that a failure has occurred within the camera. Another shortcoming is the fact that old data remains saved and can only be cancelled by clearing all data that has been stored, resulting in an inconvenience of updating data. In short, there remains a problem in respect of the reasonableness of an arrangement for affording an exposure control which is based on the result of an arithmetic operation performed using latest multiple spot photometry information.